


Our Choice

by LisjaEsenski



Series: Irelande Douze Pointe [5]
Category: Eurovision Song Contest RPF, Music RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: ESC, Eurovision, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 16:04:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15052847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LisjaEsenski/pseuds/LisjaEsenski
Summary: Ari had been hiding in the United Kingdom ever since the Eurovision final. Ari was lucky, hardly anyone he saw on the streets of London recognized who he was. And those that did, didn't hate him for what happened. But that made sense. After all, it wasn't their country that had been destroyed. It was Iceland that had been destroyed.





	Our Choice

Ari Ólafsson looked down at his empty glass.  
"Another one," he said, pushing the glass towards the barkeeper.  
"Are you sure?" the barkeeper said hesistantly, "You've had quite a bit already."  
"I'm sure, I'm fine," Ari replied, "Another one, please."  
"Alright." The barkeeper looked concerned but it wasn't like Ari was causing trouble in the bar or anything, and so he reluctantly filled the glass with another beer and pushed it towards the Icelandic singer.  
Ari had been hiding in the United Kingdom ever since the Eurovision final. Ari was lucky, hardly anyone he saw on the streets of London recognized who he was. And those that did, didn't hate him for what happened. But that made sense. After all, it wasn't their country that had been destroyed. It was Iceland that had been destroyed.  
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a postcard. A scenic picture of what was Iceland's capital, Reykjavík. Over 120,000 people had lived in that city. _Had_. Ari caught himself thinking that word and tried to block it out. Iceland didn't have a capital anymore. It was barely even a country anymore. Of the original population of 334,000, only around 50,000 people had survived the attack. Could it even be called an attack? No one was sure what it was, just that Dustin had done _something_ and that something had wiped out 85% of the population of Iceland. 85. That number stuck in Ari's mind. Dustin had specifically chose that number because Ari had only got 15 points at the contest. And so only 15% of the Icelandic population survived the contest. If only he had gotten more points, if only he hadn't come last. He thought a little harder about that last point. If he hadn't come last, then it would have been some other country instead. Someone else would have been attacked. Macedonia. They had come second last in his semi-final. Dustin had even considered choosing them in Iceland's place for his Icelandic friend Silvia Night. Silvia refused the offer and Iceland was destroyed. But it could have been Macedonia, if Silvia had accepted the offer. Ari didn't want them to be destroyed either, he didn't want anyone to be destroyed. Eye Cue had been good to him, especially after the incident at the contest. They knew he was hiding in the UK. Most people didn't know that. Most people didn't know where Ari was. Most people thought he had simply disappeared.

\---

SuRie approached the building. It looked a little rundown, but it had the word 'bar' over it in huge flashing lights. Was this the one? It sure looked like the one. She stepped inside. She saw him immediately. Ari was sitting by himself by the bar. All the other people inside were sitting with groups of friends, chatting and laughing, but not Ari. SuRie felt so bad for him. She realised now why Eye Cue had asked her to check up on him. They had been worried about Ari lately, Ari had sent some worrying texts and then started ignoring them. They trusted SuRie enough to tell her to see what was happening. And it wasn't just Eye Cue, SuRie had seen the tweets from Melovin. Melovin had been trying to get in contact with Ari, but there was no response. It seemed that Ari was shutting the world out. It was understandable, after what had happened, but still, SuRie had to try getting through to him. She wanted to make him understand that what happened to Iceland wasn't his fault. SuRie walked through the bar, only stopping when Ari looked up and looked directly at her. Ari looked shocked as SuRie walked over to him.  
"How?" was all Ari managed to say.  
"Ari..." SuRie said and sat down next to him.  
"How did you find me?" Ari asked again.  
"Eye Cue told me to check up on you," SuRie said, "You've been ignoring them, they're concerned."  
"They... they told you I was here?" Ari asked.  
"Yes," came the reply, "But only because they were worried about you. We all are."  
"I..." Ari didn't know what to say. He couldn't decide whether to be annoyed at Eye Cue for telling SuRie to check up on him after they promised not to tell anyone where he was, or to be thankful that they cared.  
"And it's not just them. Melovin has been tweeting about you," SuRie continued, "He's wondering where you are. You haven't answered any of his texts or calls since the contest. Everyone is really worried about you."  
"I don't need people to worry about me," Ari said, "I didn't ask anyone to worry about me. I'm fine. What about the people in Iceland who didn't make it, they-"  
"It's not your fault, Ari," SuRie interrupted, "It's Dustin's fault. Everything that happened that night, that was all Dustin's fault, not yours."  
"It's my fault," Ari said, "For coming last, for..."  
"If you hadn't come last it would have been someone else and you know it," SuRie said, "Someone else's country being destroyed by that maniac."  
"I know, but..." Ari sighed. Ari had seen the news recently. The Spanish Eurovision entrants had been attacked by a mob in Spain and were lucky to have escaped. Their country had been attacked by Dustin too, and it was clear that the Spanish people blamed them for what had happened. He knew that the Icelandic people would feel the exact same way. How could they not blame him?  
"It really isn't your fault," SuRie said, "Look, I'm not supposed to say this, but do you know the Freedom Alliance?"  
Ari stopped. The Freedom Alliance was a group of people who were all working on one thing. Researching a way to stop Dustin the Turkey.  
"I'm a member," SuRie continued, "We're trying to find a way to stop Dustin once and for all."  
Ari said nothing. This hadn't been what he had expected at all.  
"Dustin... Dustin is unstoppable," Ari said.  
"We don't know that for sure yet."  
SuRie slid a card over to Ari that had a phone number on it.  
"You can sit here being upset," SuRie said, "Or you can help us to do something about it. It's your choice."  
Ari didn't respond, and just looked at his glass.  
"I know," SuRie said, "This must be difficult for you. So I'll give you time to think it over, ok?"  
Ari nodded.  
"Alright, I'll tell Eye Cue that you're fine," SuRie said, "They'll be glad to hear it. Should I say anything to Melovin?"  
Ari thought for a moment.  
"No, don't," Ari said, "I'll contact him myself."  
"Good," SuRie said, walking away from Ari, "Bye, Ari. You take care of yourself."  
"Wait, SuRie," Ari said.  
SuRie turned around.  
"What is it?" she asked.  
"Thank you for this. I mean it."  
"It's nothing," SuRie said, "I'm glad to do it. Really, I mean it. Besides, I owed a favour to Eye Cue anyway."  
Ari grinned at that, and SuRie was happy to see him smiling for once. She hoped things would be good again one day. She hoped that one day Dustin would be gone and everything would be back to normal, but for now, just seeing Ari happy and not miserable, even if only for a few brief moments, was enough. SuRie smiled as she walked out the bar.


End file.
